Author Notes:

DragonTrainer and I agreed that Luke and Cory, at least, needed some transitioning from D&D 3.5 to 4e. To that end, the DM allowed them to take flaws under house rules and apply some third-party content.

Maybe it's because he's *intellectually* slow?
...nah, that's stretching it.
He probably can communicate with snails better than other ponies, has a greater understanding of their viewpoint.
Fairly useless, though, short of a Contrived Coincidence.

This is how the whole idea of Cutie Marks goes weird. They claim that a Cutie Mark is received once a pony figures out their special talent, but since G1 they were related to the Ponies' names. Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Snips and Snails- what are the odds their parents just so happened to name them after what their Cutie Marks would eventually be? Cutie Marks do not have to equal talent, that's just an excuse. Twilight's doesn't represent her skill with magic, it represents Magic, the Sixth Element of Harmony. And then there's Derpy.

@Bronymus For the name part I like to just assume Equestria has fairly loose rules for name changes up to a certain age, so Rainbow Dash may have been named Rainbow Dancer or something equally girly til the third or so time she flew through the house and broke something and her parents decided dashing was more her style than dancing.

It's 'what makes them special' which a lot of ponies misinterpret as it representing some special talent. And then engage in torturous explanations for how that relates, eg Cheerilee's 'flowers represent the smiling faces of my students as they bloom!'

So for Snails (and, say, Derpy)... it might be what makes him 'special'.

@Bronymous: A person's, or pony's, personality and talents don't develop in a vacuum. The names parents choose can somewhat inform us of their own priorities and thus the types of interests they are likely to instill and nurture in their children and thus what talents those children are most likely to have a predisposition too.

Also, as has been the case with the CMCs we see that older ponies often have at least a vague idea in what direction a foals talents might lie. Yes those three are already on the verge of discovering those talents for themselves, but there is little reason to expect such adult insights are unique to that age range. In the case of at least one of the Cake twins, Pound, we can even see a pony whose behavior and name already seem an all to perfect fit. In that same respect it is entirely conceivable that Rainbow Dash has been a speedster from an equally young age.

Lastly, since a cutie mark is supposed to represent a pony's individuality and uniqueness, it wouldn't be much of a stretch to assume that the shape it takes has as much to do with a pony's own perception of themself as it does the specifics of their talents. Name can be an important aspect of self identity, so it shouldn't be surprising when a pony's name is reflected in their cutie mark.

The assumption I have made is that cutie marks are influenced by the pony's name as much as her talents and/or nature. Thus, a pony with a horticultural talent named Roseluck would most likely have a rose-themed cutie mark while if she had been named Lilybelle would have lilies.

Note also how names and marks do not always match exactly: Big McIntosh's mark is a green apple not a red one, while Applejack has apples rather than a bottle or jug, (this has been true since G1).

Snips and Snails are a reference to a nursery rhyme and probably to a lesser degree the power-puff girls rowdy ruff boys.
What are little boys made out of? Snips and Snails and puppy-dog tails! That, is what little boys are made out of.

Yeah. Snails is probably something like that. Don't underestimate his power to communicate with snails. I bet Snails is one of the most powerful ponies in Equestria. (Or maybe he's just useless. Six or one half dozen.)

That's always been my theory. Snails (the mollusc) are good at eating plants, and Snails (the pony) is big on eating plants (such as in the talent show), so I figure his talent relates to eating plants, or more likely growing them in the first place.

I once made an M&M Character loosely based on Iron-man crossed with Magneto. He had a suit of really heavy ablative power armour (high defense, little offensive strength) that could project and manipulate magnetic fields, created by being a super-genius millionaire. However, out of the suit he was so slight and sickly he could barely walk from the door to the curb without dying of asthma or breaking his leg. The power armour was also basically a life-support system, and if that went down, well, he was boned.

I would venture a guess that MDW will be even more OP than Snips and the DM will allow Snips rather than wait for a third character but someone will keep the MDW sheet and use it for when RD gets too cocky.

Snips and Snails are a reference to a certain episode of the Powerpuff Girls, where their nemesis, Mojo Jojo is put in prison. He uses his one phone call to call Professor Utonium, the creator of the PPG and Mojo's original owner, to ask him how he made the PPG. The professor, despite being the smartest man on Earth, isn't the sharpest tool in the shed, so he tells Mojo the secret: Sugar, Spice, and Everything Nice, with a little bit of Chemical X added in. Mojo takes that information, and thinks it over for a while. Eventually, he comes to the conclusion that Snips, Snails, and Puppy Dog Tails are the opposites of the ingredients used for making the girls, and they would thus make boys. He then intentionally adds them to Chemical X, which happens to be the prison's toilet water, and makes the Rowdyruff Boys.

That's your history lesson on Lauren Faust for today, bronies, and stay tuned for more tomorrow!

Well, it's true that they did use that in Powerpuff girls, but these two characters aren't exactly a reference to that, per se. The saying that "Girls are made of sugar, spice and everything nice, and boys are made of snips and snails and puppy dogs tails" has been around for a very long time (according to wikipedia, the first published version found is from 1820). In most English speaking cultures, "sugar and spice" has become synonymous with sweet little girls, while "snips and snails" has become synonymous with icky gross boys. In MLP, Snips and Snails are primarily alluding to that nursery rhyme to highlight that they're very boy-ish -- exactly like they were doing in the Powerpuff girls with the Rowdyruff Boys. It's really sort of a coincidence more than anything, because both shows happen to be referencing the same saying.

You guys notice how Snips and Snails are the only ponies in existence without irises? Does that mean something, are the artists trying to get a point across about the two? Does it just better fit their characters?

Make a note of the baby ponies. They only have the pupils to their eyes. Snips and Snails are made out to be very young ponies, so their eyes might be in the transitional stage between just pupils to full eyes.

Perhaps Snip's special talent is finding and collecting snails easily in gardens . Snails are generally harmful to one's garden, so a pony who's talent is finding and removing them easily can be invaluable (heck, he might even get paid for it, since most ponies probably would be disgusted by em, are unable to get rid of them without magic, or are unable to get rid of em without killing them).

He can then even sell the snails to griffon gourmet chefs for a profit!

Are we sure this is only going to be 9 pages long? Because if so we're already 1/3 of the way done and they haven't finished introducing the characters yet. either the arc is going to get longer, or they're setting up for a massive collective failure, campaign-wise.

If snips's talent is cutting when his cutie mark is scissors, why could snails' be a similar trail of a snail? A high defense, taking his time and doing things diligently. Not retreating in the face of danger, but digging in and taking a stand?